Illinois  State  Historical  Society 


APRIL  1910 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  TRIAL  AND 
THE    CELEBRATED    ALMANAC 

By 
J.  N.  GRIDLEY 

Virginia,  Illinois 


Re-Print  from  the  Journal  of  the  Society  of  April  1910 


Illinois  State  Historical  Society 


APRIL  1910 


LINCOLN'S  DEFENSE  OF  DUFF  ARMSTRONG 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  TRIAL  AND 
THE    CELEBRATED    ALMANAC 


By 
J.  N.  GRIDLEY 

Virginia,  Illinois 


Re-Print  from  the  Journal  of  the  Society  of  April  1910 


LINCOLN'S  DEFENSE  OF  DUFF  ARMSTRONG. 
The  Story  of  the  Trial  and  Celebrated  Almanac. 


About  forty  years  ago,  the  writer,  a  young  man,  and  a 
comparative  stranger  in  Beardstown,  Illinois,  heard  a 
conversation  in  that  city  between  two  persons,  not  known 
to  him.  One  of  them,  whom  I  will  designate  as  Brown, 
was  telling  the  other  of  the  trial  of  Duff  Armstrong  in 
Beardstown  in  the  spring  of  1858.  Brown  said  that  he 
heard  the  trial;  that  a  witness  for  the  People  testified 
that  the  prisoner  assaulted  the  deceased  at  10  o'clock 
at  night;  that  the  moon  was  directly  overhead,  and  it 
was  as  light  as  day;  that  he  stood  near  by,  and  saw 
Armstrong  strike  the  deceased  several  terrible  blows 
with  a  slung  shot.  Brown  said  the  State's  Attorney 
then  rested  his  case,  and  the  court  adjourned  for  the  day. 
That  night  Lincoln  went  to  a  drug  store  at  the  corner 
of  the  square  on  State  street  and  procured  a  number  of 
almanacs,  which  he  took  to  his  room,  and  with  them 
"manufactured"  an  almanac  which  showed  there  was 
no  moon  on  the  night  of  the  assault;  this  "doctored" 
almanac  was  introduced  to  the  jury  and  resulted  in  the 
acquittal  of  the  prisoner.  Brown  said  that  Lincoln  was 
a  very  able  and  shrewd  lawyer,  thus  to  be  able  to  de- 
ceive the  court  and  jury  and  to  succeed  in  clearing  his 
client.  A  few  years  previous  to  this  conversation  I  had 
attended  political  meetings,  held  in  Michigan,  during  the 
campaign  of  1860,  and  heard  the  republican  candidate 
spoken  of  as  "Honest  Old  Abe,"  and  thought  if  the 
management  of  this  Armstrong  case  was  a  specimen  of 
his  honesty,  that  he  did  not  deserve  the  appellation. 


In  Barrett's  "Life  of  Lincoln,"  in  referring  to  this 
trial,  the  author,  after  describing  the  testimony  of  the 
prosecuting  witness  as  to  the  position  of  the  moon  says: 

"At  this  point  Mr.  Lincoln  produced  an  almanac  which 
showed  that  at  the  time  referred  to  by  the  witness  there 
was  no  moon  at  all,  and  showed  it  to  the  jury." 

Herndon,  in  his  "Life  of  Lincoln,"  in  which  he  gives 
an  account  of  this  trial,  says : 

"Lincoln  floored  the  principal  prosecuting  witness,  who 
had  testified  positively  to  seeing  the  fatal  blow  struck  in 
the  moonlight,  by  showing  from  an  almanac  that  the 
moon  had  set." 

In  February  1909,  the  ladies  of  Beardstown,  Illinois, 
held  a  public  meeting  in  commemoration  of  the  birth  of 
Abraham  Lincoln;  they  had  assigned  to  different  mem- 
bers of  their  club  subjects  upon  which  to  prepare  papers 
to  be  read  upon  the  anniversary  occasion.  To  Mrs.  Dr. 
Schweer  was  assigned  the  task  of  writing  up  the  "Arm- 
strong Trial."  This  lady  visited  Mr.  A.  P.  Armstrong, 
of  Ashland,  a  town  thirty  miles  distant  from  Beards- 
town — this  gentleman  was  a  brother  to  Duff  Armstrong. 
A.  P.  Armstrong  was  born  in  1840,  and  was  17  years  of 
age  when  his  brother  was  tried.  Mrs.  Schweer  relied 
upon  the  statements  of  this  brother  which  she  used  in 
the  preparation  of  her  very  well  written  paper,  from 
which  I  make  the  following  quotation: 

"A  fellow  by  the  name  of  Allen,  from  Petersburg,  was 
the  chief  witness  for  the  State,  and  whether  he  was  the 
one  who  really  killed  this  Metzker,  or  (as  some  thought, 
he  had  fallen  from  his  horse  in  a  drunken  stupor  and 
died  from  the  injuries  received),  we  do  not  know.  How- 
ever, Allen  was  sworn  in  as  chief  witness  for  the  State. 

' '  The  case  was  finally  brought  up  for  trial.  The  Arm- 
strongs had  taken  this  Allen  to  Virginia  and  had  him 
put  away  in  the  old  Virginia  house,  so  that  he  could  not 
testify,  but  Lincoln  insisted  on  his  being  brought  into 
the  court  room. 


"Collier,  of  Petersburg,  was  State's  Attorney.  He 
gave  his  testimony,  and .  showed,  what  appeared  to  the 
audience,  a  strong  proof  of  murder.  Lincoln  cross-ex- 
amined very  little,  only  looking  up  and  ascertaining  a 
few  dates  and  places.  His  own  witnesses  were  to  show 
comparatively  good  moral  character  for  the  prisoner 
previous  to  the  time  of  the  murder.  Collier,  feeling  sure 
of  his  case,  made  but  a  short  and  formal  argument.  Then 
Lincoln  followed  for  the  defense.  He  began  calmly, 
slowly  and  carefully.  He  struck  at  the  very  heart  of  the 
State's  evidence,  that  of  the  chief  witness,  Allen.  He 
followed  up  first  one  discrepancy,  then  another,  and  then 
another ;  finally  he  came  to  that  part  of  the  testimony  of 
the  chief  witness  where  he  had  sworn  positively  by  the 
light  of  the  moon  he  had  seen  the  prisoner  deliver  the 
fatal  blow  with  a  sling-shot.  Then  he  asked  a  cousin 
of  Armstrong,  Jake  Jones  by  name,  to  go  out  and  get 
him  an  almanac  at  the  nearest  store. 

"Taking  this  almanac  Lincoln  showed  that  on  the 
night  sworn  to  and  the  hour  sworn  to,  the  moon  had  not 
risen,  proving  that  the  whole  of  this  testimony  was  a 
perjury. ' ' 

The  reader  of  this  part  of  the  account  would  naturally 
wonder  why  Allen  would  commit  perjury  in  order  to 
send  Duff  Armstrong  to  the  gallows,  when  he  had  agreed 
to  stay  away  at  the  instance  of  Armstrong's  friends.  A 
reluctant  witness,  who  is  brought  into  the  witness  box 
by  an  attachment,  is  not  likely  to  swear  falsely  to  aid 
the  cause  of  the  party  that  dragged  him  into  court. 

Having  read  these  various  accounts,  and  having  heard 
from  numerous  persons  of  the  fraudulent  almanac,  and 
being  absolutely  unable  to  believe  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
would  be  guilty  of  such  outrageous  conduct,  I  concluded 
to  look  into  the  matter,  late  as  it  was. 

I  first  directed  a  letter  to  the  Professor  of  Astronomy 
of  the  University  of  Illinois,  inquiring  the  position  of  the 
moon  in  this  latitude  and  longitude  on  the  night  of 


August  29th,  1857,  when  the  assault  was  committed.    In 
reply  he  wrote  me  as  follows : 

"URBAN A,  ILL.,  March  2,  1909. 
MR.  J.  N.  GRIDLEY, 

Virginia,  Illinois; 
DEAR  SIR: 

Answering  yours  of  Febr.  24,  the  moon  was  at  first 
quarter  Aug.  27,  '1857,  at  9  A.  M.  On  the  night  of  Aug- 
ust 29  the  moon  was  two  days  and  a  half  past  first  quar- 
ter, and  crossed  the  meridian  at  7:44  P.  M.  local  time. 
The  time  of  moonset,  was  within  15  minutes  of  midnight, 
but  to  give  this  closer,  I  would  have  to  know  the  exact 
locality  for  which  to  compute. 

Trusting  that  this  information  is  what  you  want,  I 
am,  Very  truly  yours, 

JOEL  STEBBINS, 

Director  Observatory." 

To  a  second  letter  I  received  the  following  reply: 

"URBANA,  ILL.,  March  29,  1909. 
MR.  J.  N.  GRIDLEY, 

Virginia,  Illinois; 
DEAR  SIR: 

I  have  been  rather  busy  of  late  and  have  neglected 
answering  your  last  letter. 

I  computed  the  time  of  moonset  for  Longitude  90  de- 
grees west  of  Greenwich,  and  Latitude  40  degrees. 

For  August  29,  1857,  I  find  the  moonset  at  12  h  05  m., 
i.  e.  five  minutes  after  midnight  of  August  29. 

You  understand  this  refers  to  the  disappearance  of 
the  moon's  upper  edge  below  the  true  horizon. 

I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot  inform  you  about  the  period 
called  the  'dark  of  the  moon.'  It  may  have  an  exact 
meaning  but  I  cannot  find  the  term  used  in  any  of  the 
text-books,  or  in  any  standard  work.  I  am  under  the 
impression  that  the  period  extends  from  last  quarter 
until  new  moon,  but  that  is  only  a  guess.  In  1857  there 
was  new  moon  on  August  19,  10  A.  M.;  first  quarter 


John  T.  Brady,  the  sole  survivor  of  the  jury  that  tried 
Duff  Armstrong  at  Beardstown,  111.,  May  7,  1858. 


you  have,  full  moon  on  Sept.  3d,  11  P.  M.  and  last  quar- 
ter on  Sept.  10,  5  P.  M. 

Hoping  that  this  is  suitable  for  your  purpose,  I  am, 
Very  truly  yours, 

JOEL.  STEBBINS, 

Director  Observatory." 

The  reader  can  now  see  that  if  an  almanac  was  intro- 
duced at  the  Armstrong  trial  that  showed  there  was  no 
moon  to  be  seen  at  10  P.  M.,  the  hour  all  the  witnesses 
agreed  the  assault  took  place,  that  the  Court  and  the 
jury  were  deceived. 

Having  proceeded  thus  far,  I  examined  the  record  to 
learn  whether  any  of  the  jurors  were  living,  who  might 
be  able  to  remember  the  details  of  the  trial.  I  found  the 
names  of  the  jurors  were  as  follows :  Horace  Hill,  Mil- 
ton Logan,  Nelson  Graves,  Charles  D.  Marcy,  John  T. 
Brady,  Thornton  M.  Cole,  George  F.  Sielschott,  Samuel 
W.  Neely,  Matthew  Armstrong,  Benjamin  Eyre,  John  M. 
Johnson,  and  Augustus  Hoyer. 

I  knew  two  of  these  jurors,  Milton  Logan  and  John  T. 
Brady,  both  of  whom  were  then  living,  and  to  them  I 
addressed  letters  of  inquiry.  I  received  no  answer  from 
Mr.  Logan,  and  learned  that  his  memory  had  wholly 
failed  him ; ;  he  died  in  Feb.  1910  at  his  home  in  Boone, 
Iowa,  at  the  advanced  age  of  90  years. 

I  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  John  T.  Brady  in  1864, 
when  he  was  visiting  his  friends  in  this  county  on  a 
furlough  from  his  regiment  in  the  Union  Army.  He  was 
then  a  citizen  of  Kansas;  I  have  met  him  frequently 
since  that  date,  and  last  summer  had  the  pleasure  of 
visiting  him  and  his  family  at  their  home  in  Pomona, 
California.  He  is  a  retired  capitalist,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  excellent  physical  health,  and  his  mental  powers  un- 
impaired. He  is  a  man  of  much  more  than  ordinary 
intelligence,  and  he  has  written  me  at  length,  of  his  recol- 
lections of  the  Armstrong  trial,  and  I  have  every  con- 
fidence in  the  reliability  of  his  information.  I  have  care- 


fully  examined  the  record  of  the  trial,  have  written  to 
Judge  Lyman  Lacey,  of  Havana,  111.,  who,  with  his  for- 
mer partner,  William  Walker,  also  represented  Duff 
Armstrong  in  this  trial;  I  also  have  interviewed  Mr.  A. 
P.  Armstrong,  the  brother  before  mentioned,  and  believe 
that  I  have  learned  the  truth  in  the  matter  of  this  trial. 

There  is  nothing  remarkable  in  the  history  of  this 
trial;  but  in  order  to  state  the  facts,  and  to  correct  the 
wrong  impressions  that  have  been  made  by  the  various 
accounts  of  the  trial,  this  paper  has  been  prepared. 

In  August  1857,  a  religious  camp-meeting  was  held  in 
Mason  county,  Illinois,  at  a  grove  about  six  miles  north- 
east of  the  junction  of  Salt  Creek  with  Sangamon  River, 
and  about  seven  miles  southwest  of  Mason  City.  Camp 
meetings  were  common  in  those  days,  as  country  churches 
were  then  few  and  far  between.  They  usually  continued 
for  ten  days  or  two  weeks;  the  tents  of  canvass,  or 
rough  sheds  of  lumber  were  built  on  the  circumference 
of  a  circle;  stands  four  feet  square  and  four  feet  high 
were  erected  within  the  circle,  constructed  of  posts  and 
covered  with  earth,  upon  which  bright  fires  were  kept 
burning  through  the  night,  attended  by  watchers,  who 
guarded  the  sleepers  from  the  attacks  of  outlaws,  who 
infested  this  country,  who  delighted  to  annoy  quiet 
people  whenever  they  had  the  slightest  opportunity. 
These  tough  characters  amused  themselves  by  running 
horses,  drinking  whiskey,  and  fighting.  This  camp  meet- 
ing was  due  to  close  on  Sunday,  August  30, 1857.  On  the 
afternoon  of  Saturday,  August  29th  quite  a  number  of 
men  had  gathered  about  the  huckster's  wagons  that  were 
encamped  a  short  distance  (perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile) 
south  of  the  tents.  Among  these  men  was  Duff  Arm- 
strong, then  a  young  man  of  24  years,  who  owned  a  race 
horse  and  who  was  very  fond  of  running  it.  He  was  not 
a  vicious  man,  was  kind  hearted,  and  friendly,  but  fond 
of  whiskey,  as  most  young  men  of  those  days  in  that 
section  were.  He  had  been  indulging  in  drinking  on  that 
Saturday  afternoon,  and  had  also  been  engaged  in  horse 


8 


racing.  He  had  become  intoxicated,  and  early  in  the 
evening  was  lying  upon  a  bench  or  table  sleeping  off 
his  drunkenness.  About  seven  or  eight  o'clock  P.  M. 
James  P.  Metzker,  a  farmer,  who  lived  near  Petersburg 
in  Menard  county,  a  few  miles  southeast  of  the  Salt  Creek 
camp  ground,  arrived  on  the  scene.  Metzker  is  said  to 
have  been  quarrelsome  when  in  liquor,  and,  it  is  said, 
came  there  in  an  intoxicated  condition,  riding  a  horse. 
Seeing  Duff  Armstrong  lying  on  the  bench  asleep,  he 
seized  him  by  the  leg,  and  dragged  him  to  the  ground; 
Armstrong  being  partially  drunk,  and  half  asleep  and 
thoroughly  angered,  attacked  Metzker,  and  a  fight  en- 
sued. The  character  of  this  attack  was  discussed  at  the 
trial,  and  will  be  commented  upon  later.  A.  P.-  Arm- 
strong says  he  was  present  and  witnessed  the  affair, 
says  that  after  the  fight,  Metzker  and  his  brother  Duff 
shook  hands  and  drank  together,  and  soon  after  J.  H. 
Norris  and  Metzker  had  a  fight.  Metzker  mounted  his 
horse  and  started  homeward  at  a  late  hour,  and,  it  is 
said,  fell  from  his  horse  one  or  more  times,  being  greatly 
under  the  influence  of  liquor.  The  third  day  after  this 
trouble  Metzker  died  and  Norris  and  Armstrong  were 
arrested  for  murder,  and  on  account  of  -the  great  ex- 
citement of  the  people  over  the  affair,  and  because  the 
Mason  county  jail  at  Havana,  HI.,  was  rather  insecure, 
the  prisoners  were  taken  across  the  Illinois  river  into 
the  adjoining  county  of  Fulton,  and  incarcerated  in  the 
jail  at  Lewiston. 

At  the  October  term,  1857,  of  the  Mason  County  Cir- 
cuit, both  Norris  and  Armstrong  were  jointly  indicted 
for  the  murder  of  Metzker.  The  indictment  was  as  fol- 
lows: 


State  of  Illinois, 

Mason  County. 

Of  the  October  Term  of  the  Mason 
County  Circuit  Court  in  the  year 
of  Our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-seven. 

The  Grand  Jurors  chosen  selected  and  sworn  in  and 
for  the  County  of  Mason  aforesaid  in  the  name  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois  upon 
their  oaths  present  that  James  H.  Norris  and  William 
Armstrong  late  of  the  County  of  Mason  and  State  of 
Illinois  not  having  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes,  but 
being  moved  and  seduced  by  the  instigation  of  the  Devil, 
on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  August  in  the  year  of  Our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-seven  with 
force  and  arms  at  and  within  the  County  of  Mason  and 
State  of  Illinois,  in  and  upon  one  James  Preston  Metz- 
ker  in  the  peace  of  the  said  People  of  the  said  State  of 
Illinois  then  and  there  being,  unlawfully,  feloniously, 
willfully,  and  of  their  malice  aforethought  did  make  an 
assault.  And  the  said  James  H.  Norris  with  a  certain 
piece  of  wood  about  three  feet  long  which  he  the  said 
James  H.  Norris  in  his  right  hand  then  and  there  held 
the  said  James  Preston  Metzker  in  and  upon  the  back 
part  of  the  head  of  him  the  said  James  Preston  Metzker 
then  and  there  unlawfully,  feloniously,  willfully,  and  of 
his  malice  aforethought,  did  strike,  giving  to  the  said 
James  Preston  Metzker  then  and  there  with  the  stick  of 
wood  aforesaid  in  and  upon  the  said  back  part  of  the 
head  of  him  the  said  James  Preston  Metzker,  one  mortal 
bruise  and  the  said  William  Armstrong  with  a  certain 
hard  metallic  substance  called  a  slung-shot  which  he  the 
said  William  Armstrong  in  his  right  hand  then  and  there 
had  and  held,  the  said  James  Preston  Metzker,  in  and 
upon  the  right  eye  of  him  the  said  James  Preston  Metz- 
ker then  and  there  unlawfully,  feloniously,  willfully  and 
of  his  malice  aforethought  did  strike,  giving  to  the  said 
James  Preston  Metzker  then  and  there  with  a  slung-shot 

10 


aforesaid  in  and  upon  the  said  right  eye  of  him  the  said 
James  Preston  Metzker  one  other  mortal  bruise,  of  which 
said  mortal  bruises  the  said  James  Preston  Metzker  from 
the  said  29th.  day  of  August  in  the  year  aforesaid  until 
the  1st  day  of  September  in  the  year  aforesaid  at  the 
County  of  Mason  and  State  of  Illinois  aforesaid  did 
languish,  and  languishing  did  live  on  which  said  first 
day  of  September  in  the  year  aforesaid  the  said  James 
Preston  Metzker  in  the  County  and  State  aforesaid  of 
the  said  mortal  bruises  died;  and  so  the  jurors 
aforesaid  upon  their  oaths  aforesaid  do  say  that  the  said 
James  H.  Norris  and  William  Armstrong  the  said  James 
Preston  Metzker  in  manner  and  form  aforesaid  unlaw- 
fully, feloniously,  and  of  their  malice  aforethought  did 
kill  and  murder  contrary  to  the  form  of  the  statute  in 
such  cases  made  and  provided  and  against  the  Peace 
and  dignity  of  the  same  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

And  the  Grand  Jurors  aforesaid  in  the  name  and  by 
the  authority  aforesaid  upon  their  oaths  aforesaid  do 
further  present  James  H.  Norris  and  William  Arm- 
strong late  of  the  County  of  Mason  and  State  of  Illinois 
not  having  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes  but  being 
moved  and  seduced  by  the  instigation  of  the  Devil,  on  the 
twenty-ninth  day  of  August  in  the  year  of  Our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-seven  with  force  and 
arms  at  and  within  the  County  of  Mason  and  State  of 
Illinois  in  and  upon  one  James  Preston  Metzker  in  the 
Peace  of  the  said  People  of  the  said  State  of  Illinois  then 
and  there  being  unlawfully  feloniously,  and  willfully  and 
of  their  malice  aforethought  did  make  an  assault;  and 
that  the  said  James  H.  Norris  and  William  Armstrong 
with  a  certain  hard  metallic  substance  commonly  called 
a  slung-shot  which  they  the  said  James  H.  Norris  and 
William  Armstrong  in  both  their  right  hands  then  and 
there  had  a^id  held,  the  said  James  Preston  Metzker  in 
and  upon  the  right  eye  of  him  the  said  James  Preston 
Metzker  then  and  there  unlawfully,  feloniously,  willfully 
and  of  their  malice  aforethought  did  strike,  beat  and 

11 


bruise,  giving  to  the  said  James  Preston  Metzker  then 
and  there  with  the  slung-shot  aforesaid  by  striking,  beat- 
ing and  bruising  the  said  James  Preston  Metzker  in  and 
upon  the  right  eye  of  him  the  said  James  Preston  Metz- 
ker one  other  mortal  bruise  of  which  said  mortal  bruise 
the  said  James  Preston  Metzker  from  the  said  twenty- 
ninth  day  of  August  in  the  year  of  Our  Lord  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  fifty-seven  aforesaid  until  the 
first  day  of  September  in  the  year  aforesaid  at  the 
County  of  Mason  and  State  of  Illinois  aforesaid  did  lan- 
guish, and  languishing  did  live  on  which  first  day  of  Sep- 
tember in  the  year  aforesaid  the  said  James  Preston 
Metzker  in  the  county  and  State  aforesaid  of  the  said 
mortal  bruise  'died.  And  so  the  jurors  aforesaid  upon 
their  oaths  aforesaid  do  say  that  the  said  James  H.  Nor- 
ris  and  William  Armstrong  the  said  James  Preston 
Metzker  in  manner  and  form  aforesaid  unlawfully,  felon- 
iously, willfully  and  of  their  malice  aforethought  did 
kill  and  murder  contrary  to  the  form  of  the  statute  in 
such  cases  made  and  provided  and  against  the  Peace  and 
Dignity  of  the  same  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

And  the  Grand  Jurors  aforesaid  upon  their  oaths 
aforesaid  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  People 
aforesaid  do  further  present  James  H.  Norris  and  Wil- 
liam Armstrong  late  of  the  County  of  Mason  and  State 
of  Illinois  on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  August  in  the  year 
of  Our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
not  having  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes,  but  being 
moved  and  seduced  by  the  instigation  of  the  Devil  with 
force  and  arms  at  and  within  the  County  of  Mason  and 
State  of  Illinois  in  and  upon  the  said  James  Preston 
Metzker  in  the  Peace  of  the  People  of  the  said  State  of 
Illinois  then  and  there  being,  unlawfully,  feloniously, 
willfully  and  of  their  malice  aforethought  did  make  an 
assault;  and  that  the  said  James  H  Norris  and  William 
Armstrong  with  a  certain  stick  of  wood  three  feet  long 
and  of  the  diameter  of  two  inches  which  they  the  said 
James  H  Norris  and  William  Armstrong  in  their  right 

12 


hands  then  and  there  had  and  held  the  said  James  Pres- 
ton Metzker  in  and  upon  the  back  side  of  the  head  of  him 
the  said  James  Preston  Metzker  then  and  there  felon- 
iously, willfully,  unlawfully,  and  of  their  malice  afore- 
thought did  strike,  beat  and  bruise,  giving  to  the  said 
James  Preston  Metzker  then  and  there  with  a  stick  of 
wood  aforesaid  in  and  upon  the  said  back  side  of  the  head 
of  him  the  said  James  Preston  Metzker  one  other  mortal 
bruise  of  which  said  mortal  bruise  the  said  James  Pres- 
ton Metzker  on  the  said  twenty-ninth  day  of  August  in 
the  year  aforesaid  until  the  first  day  of  September  in  the 
year  aforesaid  at  the  County  and  State  aforesaid  did 
languish  and  languishing  did  live  on  which  said  first  day 
of  September  in  the  year  aforesaid  at  the  County  and 
State  aforesaid  of  the  said  mortal  bruise  died ;  and  so  the 
Jurors  aforesaid  upon  their  oaths  aforesaid  do  say  that 
the  said  James  H.  Norris  and  William  Armstrong  the 
said  James  Preston  Metzker  in  manner  and  form  afore- 
said, unlawfully  feloniously,  willfully,  and  of  their  malice 
aforethought  did  kill  and  murder;  contrary  to  the  form 
of  the  statute  in  such  cases  made  and  provided  and 
against  the  Peace  and  Dignity  of  the  same  People  of  the 
State  of  Illinois. 

HUGH  FULLERTON, 

States  Attorney. 
Filed  November  5th  1857. 

Witnesses :  Grigsby  Z.  Metzker,  Charles  Allen,  James 
P.  Walker,  William  M.  Hall,  Joseph  A.  Douglas,  William 
Douglas,  B.  F.  Stephenson,  Hamilton  Rogers,  William 
Killion,  Joseph  Speltz  and  William  Haines. 

Not  bailable :  James  Harriott. 

The  defendant  Norris,  had,  before  that  time,  killed  a 
man  named  Thornsbury,  and  had  been  indicted  for  his 
murder,  but  was  cleared  on  a  plea  of  self  defense;  per- 
haps, on  account  of  this  record,  he  labored  under  a  dis- 
advantage ;  he  stated  to  the  court,  that  he  was  unable  to 
employ  counsel,  and  the  judge  (James  Harriott)  ap- 
pointed William  Walker,  who  was  the  senior  partner 

13 


of  Lyman  Lacey,  who  was  then  a  young  man  of  some  26 
years,  to  defend  Norris.  In  the  meantime,  Dilworth  and 
Campbell,  attorneys  of  the  Mason  County  bar,  had  ap- 
plied for  a  change  of  venue  from  Mason  County,  Arm- 
strong having  made  affidavit  that  the  people  of  that 
County  were  so  prejudiced  against  him,  that  he  could 
not  have  a  fair  trial.  Judge  Harriott  ordered  the  venue, 
as  to  Armstrong,  changed  to  Cass  County,  which  is  in  the 
same  Circuit  and  adjoined  Mason  County  on  the  south. 
Walker  and  Dilworth  and  Campbell  defended  Norris, 
in  Mason  County,  and  Hugh  Fullerton,  the  State's  At- 
torney of  the  Circuit  prosecuted  him.  The  jury  found 
Norris  guilty,  and  he  was  sentenced  to  the  Penitentiary 
for  the  term  of  eight  years. 

While  Duff  Armstrong  was  lying  in  the  Fulton  county 
jail,  his  father  Jack  Armstrong  died;  on  his  death  bed 
he  advised  his  wife,  Hannah  Armstrong,  to  save  Duff  if 
she  could,  if  she  had  to  give  up  her  little  farm  of  forty 
acres.  She  employed  Walker  and  Lacey  to  look  after 
Duff's  defense  at  Havana. 

Upon  the  adjournment  of  the  Mason  County  Circuit 
Court,  the  Mason  County  sheriff,  started  to  the  state 
penitentiary,  then  at  Alton,  Illinois ;  by  steam  boat  down 
the  Illinois  river  from  Havana  to  Alton;  as  Beardstown 
was  on  the  route,  the  sheriff  handcuffed  Norris  and 
Armstrong  together  and  began  the  journey.  While  on 
the  way,  Norris  urged  Armstrong  to  walk  about  the  boat 
with  him,  but  Armstrong  complained  of  weariness,  and 
kept  his  seat.  He  afterwards  explained  to  his  friends 
that  he  feared  Norris  might  attempt  to  escape,  and  drag 
him  overboard.  Arriving  at  Beardstown,  the  two  men 
were  separated,  and  Duff  Armstrong  was  locked  up  in 
the  Cass  county  jail,  in  that  city,  and  Norris  taken  down 
to  Alton. 

In  the  meantime  Mrs.  Hannah  Armstrong  was  advised 
to  secure  the  services  of  her  old  friend  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Rev.  J.  T.  Hobson,  of  Lake  City,  Iowa,  in  1909  pub- 
lished an  interesting  little  book  entitled,  ''Footprints  of 

14 


Abraham  Lincoln."  This  work  was  published  by  The 
Otterbein  Press  of  Dayton,  Ohio.  This  author  states 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  addressed  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Armstrong  as 
follows : 

Springfield,  Ohio,  [  ?]  September  18, 

1  'Dear  Mrs.  Armstrong:— I  have  just  heard  of  your 
deep  affliction,  and  the  arrest  of  your  son  for  murder. 
I  can  hardly  believe  that  he  can  be  guilty  of  the  crime 
alleged  against  him.  It  does  not  seem  possible.  I  am 
anxious  that  he  should  have  a  fair  trial,  at  any  rate ;  and 
gratitude  for  your  long  continued  kindness  to  me  in  ad- 
verse circumstances  prompts  me  to  offer  my  humble  ser- 
vices gratuitously  in  his  behalf.  It  will  afford  me  an 
opportunity  to  requite,  in  a  small  degree,  the  favors  I 
received  at  your  hand,  and  that  of  your  lamented  hus- 
band, when  your  roof  afforded  me  grateful  shelter  with- 
out money  and  without  price. 

Yours  truly, 

Abraham  Lincoln." 

In  August,  1831,  Abraham  Lincoln,  then  a  youth  of  22 
years,  made  his  appearance  in  New  Salem,  Menard 
county,  Illinois,  a  small  settlement  on  the  Sangamon 
river,  a  few  miles  above  Petersburg,  Illinois.  He  was 
employed  as  a  clerk  by  a  man  named  Offut,  who  was  the 
proprietor  of  a  store.  Offut  very  soon  became  a  warm 
friend  of  his  young  clerk.  He  boasted  that  Lincoln  could 
outrun,  whip,  or  throw  down  any  man  in  Sangamon 
county.  (Menard  was  then  a  part  of  Sangamon.)  A 
quotation  from  "Herndon's  Life  of  Lincoln  reads  thus: 

"In  the  neighborhood  of  the  village  (of  New  Salem), 
or  rather  a  few  miles  to  the  southwest,  lay  a  strip  of 
timber  called  Clary's  Grove.  The  boys  who  lived  there 
were  a  terror  to  the  entire  region— seemingly  a  necessary 
product  of  frontier  civilization.  They  were  friendly  and 
good  natured ;  they  could  trench  a  pond,  dig  a  bog,  build 
a  house;  they  could  pray  and  fight,  make  a  village  or 
create  a  state.  They  would  do  alm9st  anything  for  sport 
or  fun,  love  or  necessity.  Though  rude  and  rough, 

15 


though  life's  forces  ran  over  the  edge  of  the  bowl,  foam- 
ing and  sparkling  in  pure  deviltry's  sake,  yet  place  be- 
fore them  a  poor  man  who  needed  their  aid,  a  lame  or  sick 
man,  a  defenseless  woman,  a  widow,  they  melted  into 
sympathy  and  charity  at  once.  They  gave  all  they  had, 
and  willingly  toiled  or  played  cards  for  more.  Though 
there  never  was  under  the  sun  a  more  (generous  parcel  of 
rowdies,  a  stranger's  introduction  was  likely  to  be  the 
most  unpleasant  part  of  his  acquaintance  with  them. 
They  conceded  leadership  to  one  Jack  Armstrong,  a 
hardy,  strong,  and  well-developed  specimen  of  physical 
manhood,  and  under  him  they  were  in  the  habit  of 
''cleaning  out"  New  Salem  whenever  his  order  went 
forth  to  do  so.  Offut  and  "Bill"  Clary— the  latter  skep- 
tical of  Lincoln's  strength  and  agility— ended  a  heated 
discussion  in  the  store  one  day  over  the  new  clerk's 
ability  to  meet  the  tactics  of  Clary's  Grove,  by  a  bet  of 
ten  dollars  that  Jack  Armstrong  was,  in  the  language  of 
the  day,  "a  better  man  than  Lincoln."  The  new  clerk 
strongly  opposed  this  sort  of  an  introduction,  but  after 
much  entreaty  from  Offut,  at  last  consented  to  make  his 
bow  to  the  social  lions  of  the  town  in  this  unusual  way. 
He  was  now  six  feet  four  inches  high,  and  weighed,  as 
his  friend  and  confidant,  William  Green,  tells  us  with 
impressive  precision,  "two  hundred  and  fourteen 
pounds. ' '  The  great  contest  was  to  be  a  friendly  one  and 
fairly  conducted.  All  New  Salem  adjourned  to  the  scene 
of  the  wrestle.  Money,  whiskey,  knives  and  all  manner 
of  property  were  staked  on  the  result.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  go  into  the  details  of  the  encounter.  Every  one  knows 
how  it  ended;  how  at  last  the  tall  and  angular  rail- 
splitter,  enraged  at  the  suspicion  of  foul  tactics,  and 
profiting  by  his  height  and  the  length  of  his  arms,  fairly 
lifted  the  great  bully  by  the  throat  and  shook  him  like  a 
rag;  how  by  this  act  he  established  himself  solidly  in 
the  esteem  of  all  New  Salem,  and  secured  the  respectful 
admiration  of  the  very  man  whom  he  had  so  thoroughly 
vanquished.  Prom  this  time  forward  Jack  Armstrong, 


16 


his  wife  Hannah,  and  all  the  other  Armstrongs  became 
his  warm  and  trusted  friends.  None  stood  readier  than 
they  to  rally  to  his  support,  none  more  willing  to  lend 
a  helping  hand.  Lincoln  appreciated  their  friendship 
and  support,  and  in  after  years  proved  his  gratitude  by 
saving  one  member  of  the  family  from  the  gallows." 

Shortly  after  the  above  encounter,  Lincoln  became  a 
member  of  the  Armstrong  family.  The  family  then 
lived  three  and  a  half  miles  north  of  Petersburg,  Menard 
county,  two  or  three  miles  from  the  Sangamon  river, 
near  Concord  church.  Here  the  future  president  made 
rails,  studied  surveying,  and  helped  the  farmers  of  the 
neighborhood  with  their  work.  Mrs.  Armstrong  would 
often  tell  of  having  " foxed"  Lincoln's  trousers  with 
deer  skin,  so  they  would  better  sustain  the  rough  usage 
to  which  they  were  subjected  in  his  surveying  trips, 
through  tall  prairie  grass,  timber  and  brush,  which  he 
travelled  through  in  establishing  the  lines  of  the  lands 
of  the  early  settlers. 

Mrs.  Armstrong  drove  all  the  way  to  Springfield  to 
consult  Mr.  Lincoln,  hoping  he  might  be  able  to  secure 
the  release  of  her  son  before  his  trial. 

Mr.  Lincoln  attended  the  November  Term  of  the  Cass 
Circuit  court  in  order  to  get  his  client  admitted  to  bail. 
The  result  of  this  effort  is  shown  by  the  following  tran- 
script of  the  record  of  the  court : 

November  19, 1857.  The  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
vs.  William  Armstrong;  Venue  from  Mason  County. 

And  now  on  this  day  come  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  by  their  attorney,  Hugh  Fullerton,  Esquire,  and 
the  prisoner  William  Armstrong,  who  is  brought  here  to 
the  Bar  in  proper  person.  A  motion  is  made  by  the 
prisoner,  to  admit  him  to  Bail.  Whereupon  a  motion 
was  made  on  the  part  of  the  People  for  a  continuance 
until  the  next  Term  of  this  Court,  which,  after  due  de- 
liberation by  the  Court,  was  granted,  and  the  motion  to 
admit  to  Bail,  was  overruled. 


17 


Mr.  Lincoln  then  told  Duff  that  he  must  remain  in  jail 
until  the  next  spring,  and  then  he  would  come  down  and 
get  him  out.  Mrs.  Armstrong  was  present  at  this  time. 
An  old  school  teacher,  who  was  confined  in  the  same  jail 
for  larceny,  proposed  to  Duff's  mother,  that  if  she  would 
buy  him  a  pair  of  spectacles  and  some  books,  he  would 
teach  her  son  to  read  during  the  long  hours  that  were 
to  come,  before  the  advent  of  spring;  the  mother  gladly 
did  this,  and  Duff  emerged  from  the  jail  the  following 
May,  very  thin  and  pale,  but  his  education  had  been  much 
improved. 

The  May  term  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Cass  county  con- 
vened on  Monday  the  3d  instant;  Mr.  Lincoln  arrived 
on  Thursday  the  6th,  and  found  that  the  most  important 
witness  for  the  People,  Charles  Allen,  had  not  arrived, 
and  that  an  attachment  had  been  issued  for  him.  He 
inquired  of  the  friends  of  Armstrong  what  they  knew 
of  Allen,  and  was  told  that  Allen  had  agreed  with  them 
to  remain  at  the  hotel  at  Virginia,  13  miles  away,  pro- 
vided his  expenses  were  paid,  and  in  case  they  wanted 
him  present,  he  would  come  if  they  would  come  after 
him.  Mr.  Lincoln  soon  explained  to  them  that  if  Allen 
did  not  appear,  he  having  been  summoned  to  come,  the 
case  would  be  continued,  and  Duff  would  remain  in  jail 
for  six  months  to  come.  Two  cousins  of  Duff  hitched 
up  the  team  to  their  wagon  and  drove  off  to  Virginia 
and  brought  Allen  into  Beardstown  that  night,  and  on 
Friday  the  7th  instant,  the  trial  began.  The  case  was 
prosecuted  by  Hugh  Fullerton,  the  State's  Attorney, 
assisted  by  an  attorney  named  Collier,  from  Petersburg, 
who  had  been  employed  by  a  brother  of  Metzker,  the  de- 
ceased. Mr.  Lincoln  was  assisted  by  William  Walker, 
the  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Walker  &  Lacey,  of 
Havana,  Illinois. 

I  will  allow  Mr.  Brady,  the  only  juror  now  living,  who 
tried  this  case,  to  describe  the  trial  in  his  own  way : 

"The  prosecuting  witness,  Allen,  testified  in  the  trial 
that  the  reason  he  could  see  a  slung-shot  that  Armstrong 

18 


had  in  his  hand,  with  which  he  struck  Metzker,  was  that 
the  moon  was  shining  very  bright,  about  where  the  sun 
would  be,  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  very  particular  to  have  him  repeat  himself  a  dozen 
or  more  times  during  the  trial  about  where  the  moon 
was  located,  and  my  recollection  is  now,  that  the  almanac 
was  not  introduced  until  Mr.  Lincoln  came  to  that  part 
of  Allen's  testimony  telling  the  Court  where  the  moon 
was  located.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  careful  not  to  cross 
Mr.  Allen  in  anything,  and  when  Allen  lacked  words  to 
express  himself,  Lincoln  loaned  them  to  him.  Allen  was 
the  only  witness  for  the  State,  and  there  were  eight  or 
ten  witnesses  for  the  defense,  and  they  all  swore  that 
Armstrong  struck  Metzker  with  his  fist,  and  I  am  satis- 
fied that  the  jury  thought  Allen  was  telling  the  truth.  I 
know  that  he  impressed  me  that  way,  but  his  evidence 
with  reference  to  the  moon  was  so  far  from  the  fact's  that 
it  destroyed  his  evidence  with  the  jury.  The  almanac 
that  was  produced  was  examined  closely  by  the  Court, 
and  the  attorneys  for  the  State,  and  the  almanac  showed 
that  the  moon  at  that  time  was  going  out  of  sight;  set- 
ting ;  and  the  almanac  was  allowed  to  be  used  as  evidence 
by  Judge  Harriott. 

There  has  never  been  a  question  in  my  mind  about  the 
genuineness  of  the  almanac,  that  it  was  an  up  to  date 
almanac;  this  I  am  sure  of,  as  it  was  passed  up  to  the 
Judge,  jury  and  lawyers,  who  all  examined  it  closely,  and 
the  State's  Attorney  said  'Mr.  Lincoln,  you  are  mistaken, 
the  moon  was  just  coming  up  instead  of  going  down  at 
that  time'  and  Mr.  Lincoln  retorted:  'It  serves  my  pur- 
pose just  as  well,  just  coming  up,  or  just  going  down,  as 
you  admit  it  was  not  over  head  as  Mr.  Allen  swore  it 
was.'  As  to  the  question  of  the  validity  of  the  almanac, 
Mr.  Lincoln's  long  and  honorable  life  is  a  distinct  re- 
futation of  any  such  dishonorable  action  on  his  part. 
My  recollection  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  appearance  as  he  ad- 
dressed the  jury  is  very  vivid.  The  day  was  warm  and 
sultry,  and,  as  he  rose  to  make  his  closing  argument  he 

19 


removed  his  coat,  vest,  and  later,  his  'stock,'  the  old 
fashioned  necktie  worn  by  men  in  those  days.  His  sus- 
penders were  home-made  knitted  ones,  and  finally,  as  he 
warmed  up  to  his  subject,  one  of  them  slipped  from  his 
shoulder,  and  he  let  it  fall  to  his  side,  where  it  remained 
until  he  had  finished  speaking.  In  this  'backwoodsy' 
appearance  he  was  about  as  homely,  and  awkward  ap- 
pearing person  as  could  be  imagined;  but  all  this  was 
forgotten  in  listening  to  his  fiery  eloquence,  his  masterly 
argument,  his  tender  and  pathetic  pleading  for  the  life  of 
the  son  of  his  old  benefactor.  Tears  were  plentifully 
sned  by  every  one  present;  the  mother  of  Duff  Arm- 
strong, who  was  present,  wore  a  huge  sun-bonnet,  her 
face  was  scarcely  visible,  but  her  feelings  were  plainly, 
shown  by  her  sobs. 

As  we  were  leaving  the  court  room  to  pass  into  the 
jury  room,  I  heard  Mr.  Lincoln  tell  Mrs.  Armstrong  that 
her  boy  would  be  cleared  before  sundown,  which  proved 
to  be  true.  We  were  out  less  than  an  hour;  only  one 
ballot  was  taken,  and  that  was  unanimous  for  acquittal. 
After  we  rendered  our  verdict,  Mr.  Lincoln  shook  hands 
with  Duff  Armstrong  and  then  led  him  to  his  mother 
and  gave  him  a  short  lecture  on  making  a  man  of  him- 
self and  being  a  comfort  to  his  mother,  telling  him  to 
care  for  her  and  try  to  make  as  good  a  man  as  his  father 
had  been. ' ' 

Hon.  J.  Henry  Shaw,  an  eminent  lawyer,  who  practiced 
his  profession  in  Cass  county  for  many  years,  in  writing 
an  account  of  this  trial  said: 

"He  told  the  jury,  of  his  once  being  a  poor,  friendless 
boy;  that  Armstrong's  parents  took  him  into  their  house, 
fed  and  clothed  him,  and  gave  him  a  home.  There  were 
tears  in  his  eyes  when  he  spoke.  The  sight  of  his  tall, 
quivering  frame,  and  the  particulars  of  the  story  he  so 
pathetically  told,  moved  the  j.ury  to  tears  also,  and  they 
forgot  the  guilt  of  the  defendant,  in  their  admiration  of 

*  Only  two  instructions  were  given  to  the  jury  in  behalf  of  the  de- 
fendant, and  these  are  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  A  fac  similie 
of  them  appears  in  this  paper. 

20 


_ .::} 

(",  ';.  --.-     •:_          ,    ...-.•  •   •     .    ••          -        >' 


Fac-simile  of  the  instructions  to  the  Jury  in  behalf  of  the  defend- 
ant.    Armstrong  trial,   Beardstown  111.,   May  7,   1858. 
In  Mr.  Lincoln's  handwriting. 


his  advocate.  It  was  the  most  touching  scene  I  ever 
witnessed." 

The  actual  facts  relative  to  the  killing  of  Metzker  are 
doubtless  disclosed  by  these  recitals  in  the  letters  to  me 
of  Mr.  Brady,  which  are  as  follows : 

"One  of  the  witnesses  in  the  Duff  Armstrong  case 
was  Will  Watkins,  whose  father  lived  near  Petersburg, 
in  Menard  county.  About  two  months  after  the  Arm- 
strong trial,  T.  B.  Collins  and  myself  were  in  the  Wat- 
kins  neighborhood  buying  cattle;  Mr.  Watkins  sent  his 
son  Will  with  us,  to  help  look  up  cattle.  I  recognized 
him  as  being  the  witness  that  Mr.  Lincoln  used  to  prove 
that  Duff  Armstrong  did  not  have  the  sling-shot  which 
was  exhibited  at  the  trial,  in  his  possession.  It  naturally 
followed  that  we  talked  of  the  trial.  Will  Watkins  told 
me  that  Mr.  Lincoln  sent  for  him  to  come  to  Springfield; 
he  questioned  him  about  the  sling  shot,  and  asked  how 
it  happened  to  be  lost,  and  then  found  near  the  spot 
where  Metzker  was  killed.  He  said  he  told  Mr.  Lincoln 
that  when  he  laid  down  that  night  under  the  wagon  to 
go  to  sleep,  that  he  laid  the  sling  shot  upon  the  reach  of 
the  wagon,  and  in  the  morning,  forgot  to  get  it,  and  when 
the  wagon  was  driven  away,  it  dropped  off  at  the  place 
where  it  was  found.  Watkins  said  that  he  told  Mr.  Lin- 
coln that  he  (Lincoln)  did  not  want  to  use  him  (Wat- 
kins)  as  a  witness,  as  he  knew  too  much,  and  he  began 
to  tell  Lincoln  what  he  knew,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  would  not 
allow  him  to  tell  him  anything  and  said  to  Watkins: 
'All  I  want  to  know  is  this:  Did  you  make  that  sling- 
shot? and  did  Duff  Armstrong  ever  have  it  in  his  po- 
sesion?'  Watkins  said  he  replied:  'On  cross-examina- 
tion they  may  make  me  tell  things  I  do  not  want  to  tell' 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  assured  him  he  would  see  to  it  that  he 
was  not  questioned  about  anything  but  the  slung-shot. 
Watkins  told  me  that  Duff  Armstrong  killed  Metzker  by 
striking  him  in  the  eye  with  an  old  fashioned  wagon 
hammer  and  that  he  saw  him  do  it.  Watkins  said  that 
Douglass  and  all  the  other  eight  or  ten  witnesses  for 

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Armstrong  who  swore  that  Armstrong  hit  Metzker  with 
his  fist,  all  swore  to  a  lie  and  they  knew  it,  as  they  all 
knew  he  hit  him  with  a  wagon  hammer.  During  the  trial 
Allen  testified  that  Duff  Armstrong  hit  Metzker  with  a 
sling-shot  and  I  felt  he  was  telling  the  truth  until  Mr. 
Lincoln  proved  by  the  almanac  that  Allen  was  so  badly 
mistaken  about  it  being  a  bright  moonlight  night;  then 
Allen's  whole  testimony  was  discredited." 

To  arrive  at  a  sensible  conclusion  in  this  matter,  I  will 
re-capitulate  the  facts: 

Metzker  was  engaged  in  a  personal  conflict,  with  at 
least  two  opponents,  about  ten  o'clock  of  the  night  of 
August  29th,  he  died  on  the  third  day  thereafter.  A.  P. 
Armstrong,  then  17  years  of  age,  who. was  present  at  the 
scene  of  the  encounter,  and  who  attended  the  trial  says 
that  at  the  time  Metzker  dragged  his  brother  Duff  off 
the  bench  or  table,  he  spit  in  his  face;  that  Duff  was 
under  the  influence  of  whiskey ;  that  Metzker  was  a  large 
and  powerful  man,  and  Duff  was  one  of  twins,  weighed 
about  140  pounds  and  not  nearly  so  strong  as  Metzker; 
as  Armstrong  was  so  much  the  weaker  man  he  would  be 
very  likely  to  sieze  any  suitable  weapon,  as  there  were 
numerous  wagons  near  at  hand,  he  doubtless  grasped  a 
wagon-hammer ;  that  Allen  in  describing  the  encounter  in 
court,  illustrated  the  manner  in  which  Duff  delivered  his 
blows,  which  A.  P.  Armstrong  in  my  interview  with  him 
repeated  to  me,  by  raising  his  right  hand  as  high  as  his 
face  and  striking  an  " over-hand"  blow.  Allen  was  not 
hostile  to  the  Armstrong  people,  as  he  agreed  with  them 
to  stay  away  from  the  trial ;  I  have  examined  the  records, 
and  find  that  the  State's  Att'y  caused  an  attachment  to 
issue  for  him  on  May  6th,  which  was  returned  served  into 
open  court  on  the  next  day.  Mr.  Brady  states  that  Allen 
impressed  him,  and  the  other  members  of  the  jury,  as  a 
truthful  witness.  Had  he  not  made  the  mistake  of  his 
location  of  the  position  of  the  moon,  it  is  altogether  likely 
that  the  eloquence  of  Abraham  Lincoln  could  not  have 
saved  his  client  from  punishment.  The  files  in  the  case 

22 


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show,  that  15  witnesses  appeared  in  behalf  of  the  defend- 
ant, and  it  is  very  likely  that  " eight  or  ten"  of  them 
testified,  as  Will  Watkins  related  to  Mr.  Brady  a  few 
weeks  after  the  trial.  A  cousin  of  Will  Watkins  who 
lives  in  my  city,  tells  me  that  he  died  several  years  since 
at  his  home  in  Menard  county. 

Hannah  Armstrong  married  Samuel  Wilcox,  and 
moved  to  Iowa,  where  she  died  August  15,  1890,  at  the 
age  of  79  years. 

Duff,  and  three  of  his  brothers  enlisted  in  the  civil  war ; 
about  1862,  Duff  was  sick  in  an  army  hospital  in  the  east ; 
his  mother  wrote  the  President,  telling  him  of  the  ser- 
ious illness  of  her  son,  and  asking  him  to  send  him  home ; 
Mr.  Lincoln  immediately  sent  an  order  for  his  discharge, 
and  Duff  returned  to  his  mother,  who  nursed  him  back 
to  health.  He  lived  an  honorable  and  useful  life,  and 
died  in  this  county,  on  the  5th  day  of  May,  1899,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-six  years. 


23 


